Caged hens
Dr READ (Brunswick) (09:44): With my Greens colleagues, I call on the Victorian government to bring an end to the use of battery cages for egg-laying hens as soon as possible. The commonwealth Department of Agriculture has, after seven years of discussion with industry, announced these cages will be banned in—wait for it—2036. Europe stopped using them 10 years ago, New Zealand stopped this year and several US states are in the process of stopping them or have done so. The Victorian Greens have been calling for the sale of caged eggs and the use of battery cages to be phased out for many years. In 2014 we introduced a bill in Parliament to ban the use of battery cages for laying hens and to prohibit the cruel practice of de-beaking hens. The great majority of Victorians oppose the use of battery cages, which coop hens in such a small space that they cannot stretch their wings and the confined hens turn on one another, leading to the painful practice of de-beaking. We must also ban the cruel practice of forced moulting. We do not need to allow an extra 14 years for the transition away from these cages when the Victorian government can and should make it happen faster.